In the UK, very few of the easily accessible high street lenders have an appetite for high-value mortgages. Many have historically capped their lending at around the £1 million mark. While we’ve seen this increase in recent years, the fact remains that mainstream banks usually aren’t the best route for wealthy individuals – particularly those who have some complexity to their situation.
On occasion, a specialist private bank is the only solution – as we proved for this client, seeking to purchase a £3 million property in London with minimal deposit.
The client:
The client was a UK national, hoping to purchase a beautiful five-bed residential property in London. However, his current home had yet to sell, meaning he couldn’t access the funds he needed at that time.
One way he would be able to proceed with the sale was by securing a high loan to value (LTV) mortgage with a very small deposit. By taking out such a mortgage on a short fixed term period – say, two years – the client would then be able to pay down a large chunk of the loan and significantly reduce the LTV once his old property had sold.
Unfortunately, arranging high LTV mortgages can be difficult at the best of times – and when the amount exceeds £2 million, it becomes even more tricky. He was also keen to secure this on an interest-only basis, to keep the monthly repayments manageable.
The solution:
We know from experience that this sort of case is best placed with a specialist. So, we set about approaching private banks, and were able to secure terms with a prestigious lender that deals exclusively with wealthy clients – and will often only work on cases presented via a broker.
With this lender, we were able to secure a two-year fixed term rate at 95% LTV, on an interest-only repayment basis. This is a great example of how access to a private lender can help you achieve mortgage terms that simply wouldn’t be possible with a mainstream bank.
The case in brief:
- UK national awaiting the sale of his current home
- Seeking a high LTV mortgage for a £3 million property
- Two-year fixed term interest-only rate
- Secured with a prestigious private bank